Cathy Lu

My work revolves around the manipulation, appropriation, and de-contextualization of traditional Chinese art imagery and presentation as a way to explore how Eastern imagery is seen and understood in the US, and how ideas of cultural ‘authenticity’ and ‘tradition’ interface with contemporary trans-cultural experiences. My materials are rooted in traditional Chinese art, working mostly in ceramic – based sculpture and watercolors. My work draws inspiration from the displays at the Asian Art Museum, to fruit markets in Chinese immigrant neighborhoods, and to the trinket shops in Chinatown. I am concerned with the assumptions we make about the authenticity of culture and its objects and its relationship to contemporary identity.